About

Savonna Nicole Atkins is a mixed-media artist and painter based in metro-Atlanta. Atkins creates abstract paintings, embroidered textiles, and mixed-media work in her studio in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Born in Annapolis, Maryland, Atkins grew up attending Young People’s Studio classes at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Atkins later moved to North Carolina to attend the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where in 2011 she received a B.A. in Recreation Therapy with minors in Studio Art and Psychology. For her undergraduate thesis work, she studied the effects of watercolor painting on the behaviors of older adults with dementia. In 2013, she published her research “Using Art to Decrease Passivity in Older Adults with Dementia,” in the Annual in Therapeutic Recreation. Atkins continued her art education in Atlanta, Georgia, where she received an MFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Atlanta in 2015. 

Atkins has exhibited her work in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, California, and Hong Kong. Seven paintings and sculptures by Atkins belong to the SCAD Savannah and SCAD Hong Kong permanent collections. Her work is in collections in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, California, South Korea, and Florida, including Hotel Alba Tampa. Additionally, Atkins works part-time as an adaptive arts specialist and recreation therapist at a physical rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta.

Atkins' current two-person exhibition with Rachel Grant, Through Windows and Across Parks, is on view at Gallery 1740 in Atlanta, Georgia until February 7, 2025. The exhibition features landscape-inspired works and offers a thoughtful exploration of motherhood, self-concept, and the suburban experience, seen through the lens of painting, textiles, cyanotypes, and multimedia art.

Call 404-605-0505 (ext. 103) or email curator@gallery1740.com to make an appointment during gallery hours of Tuesday-Friday, 9 am-4 pm.

Gallery 1740, 1740 Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30309

STATEMENT

Through textile work and paintings, I explore perfectionism, self-compassion, decorative mending, landscape, and a connection to the natural world.  My hands cut and arrange small pieces of domestic fabrics and clothing, relishing in the vast variety of fiber textures and colors. The compositions of my abstract textiles come together slowly, after layers of hand stitching, embroidery, and weaving intertwine with opaque and semi-transparent fabrics. Weaving allows me to make sense of the things in my life that I cannot control: the random, unexpected moments and life-altering events. I integrate seemingly disparate textile material using the sculptural lines of thread, yarn, and fabric strips, and create a semblance of order amongst a bombardment of raw and unraveling fibers. The loose threads and edges await the fastidious needle. Trails of intricate stitching tend to the cuts and broken weaves and create strong, securing structural connections.  My struggle to gather and care for it all creates an underlying tension stitched into the pieced-together abundance of the work. Some fibers are left to unravel as I navigate the balance between seeking control and letting go. 

The compositions of my paintings on canvas and panel reference views of my suburban experience, impressions of childhood memories, and the layered demands of motherhood in our society. I am continually inspired by nature’s beauty and its ability to regulate our nervous system. Taking photos of my local landscape and botanical details remains a key part of my creative practice since having children, as it is something I can do while watching my children play in our yard or while walking on a trail. I integrate these captured peaceful moments into paintings with a variety of paint applications. My painted shapes, brushstrokes, and layering reference my experience manipulating textiles, sewing, and weaving.

Education

2015       Savannah College of Art and Design, MFA in Painting, Atlanta, GA

2012      University of North Carolina Wilmington, B.A. with Honors in Recreation Therapy; minors in Studio Art and Psychology, Wilmington, NC    

2005      Maryland Institute College of Art, black & white photography course, Baltimore, MD

1998-2004 Maryland Institute College of Art, Young People’s Studio courses, Baltimore, MD

Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions

2024 Through Windows and Across Parks, two-person exhibition with Rachel Grant, Gallery 1740, Atlanta, GA

2017 High Kicks, Twirls, and Slips, solo site-specific outdoor installation during EAV Strut, Doppler Projects, Atlanta, GA

2016 Revolving Art Ponce City Market, solo exhibition, Industrious Atlanta Ponce, Atlanta, GA

2015 Revolving Art Midtown, solo exhibition, Industrious Atlanta Midtown, Atlanta, GA

Bouquet de Dents-de-Lions, solo MFA thesis exhibition, Sycamore Place Gallery, Decatur, GA

Selected Exhibitions

2024       Small Works Holiday Exhibit, Suwanee Arts Center, Suwanee, GA

The Hudgens Center Juried Members Show, juried by Tom Francis, Georgia Gallery at the Hudgens Center, Duluth, GA

Honeycomb Small Works Exhibit, curated by Sabre Esler, Jeffrey Wilcox Paclipan, and Ramie Little, The Pollinator Art Space, Atlanta, GA

Unbound, curated by Sabre Esler, The Pollinator Art Space, Atlanta, GA

The Summer Invitational, curated by Jacob O’Kelley and Maria Bruckman, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, GA

Spring Exhibit, Suwanee Arts Center, Suwanee, GA

2023      It’s a Small Works, After All, Suwanee Arts Center, Suwanee, GA    

2020      From The Artist’s Collection: MINT’s Summer Invitational, mintatl.org

MINT / Legacy Studios Art Exhibition, Invitational, Legacy Studios, Atlanta, GA

2019 MINT / BrightHouse Art Exhibition, Invitational, BrightHouse, Atlanta, GA

2017 EngageMINT, Blue Mark Studios, Atlanta, GA

Little Things Mean a Lot, curated by Marianne Lambert, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, GA

Open Studio, Juried, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

Gallery Vibe Grand Opening, Gallery Vibe, Naples, FL

InTouch, curated by Savonna Atkins and Jenny Fisher, Downtown Players Club, Atlanta, GA

Out From The Deep, OTP Gallery, Marietta, GA

Flora, gallery43, Roswell, GA

Artfields, Juried, NDC Photography, Lake City, SC

Emerge, gallery43, Roswell, GA

High Museum Wine Auction, Tents at Turner Field, Atlanta, GA

Locus 100, Invitational, Linda Matney Gallery, Williamsburg, VA

Bare, gallery43, Roswell, GA

Alchemy, gallery43, Roswell, GA

2016 MINT Postcard Pin-up Show, Second Self Beer Company, Atlanta, GA

The Imaginary Million, Invitational, Le Fais do-do, Atlanta, GA

Grand Opening, gallery43, Roswell, GA

Small Works, Juried, Gutstein Gallery, Savannah, GA

I’m Feelin’ Myself, curated by Miranda Kyle, Downtown Players Club, Atlanta, GA

Open Studio, Juried, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

Verve, 1015 Folsom, San Francisco, CA

New Perspectives, Invitational, Sabre Esler Studio, Atlanta, GA

Modern Love, Juried, Gutstein Gallery, Savannah, GA

Signature, The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA

An Affair of the Art, Invitational, Atlanta Decorative Arts Center, Atlanta, GA

2015 Open Studio, Juried, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

The Flow of Soul, Invitational, B’nJ Gallery, Atlanta, GA

An Affair of the Art, Invitational, Atlanta Decorative Arts Center, Atlanta, GA

Moxie Interactive Group Exhibition, Invitational, Moxie Interactive, Atlanta, GA

2014 Open Studio, Juried, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

Good Cup Bad Cup, Juried, Spruill Center of the Arts, Atlanta, GA

SCAD Seen Gala, Juried, Gallery See, Atlanta, GA

Fresh Blood, Juried, Mason Murer Fine Art, Atlanta, GA

Double Take, Sycamore Place Gallery, Decatur, GA

Moxie Interactive Group Exhibition, Invitational, Moxie Interactive, Atlanta, GA

2013 Open Studio, Juried, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

Edelman Galleries Group Exhibition, Invitational, Edelman, Atlanta, GA

Moxie Interactive Group Exhibition, Invitational, Moxie Interactive, Atlanta, GA

2012 Moxie Interactive Group Exhibition, Invitational, Moxie Interactive, Atlanta, GA

Accreditation Review, Invitational, Savannah College of Art and Design, Hong Kong

Open Studio, Juried, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

America Scores Inspired Art, Alston & Bird, Atlanta, GA

Ready to Walk, Juried, Dewberry Gallery of SCAD, Atlanta, GA

All Student Show 2011 Honorees Group Exhibit, UNCW, Wilmington, NC

2011 New Members Show, Juried, Atlanta Artists Center Gallery, Atlanta, GA

  All Student Show, Juried, UNCW Boseman Gallery, Wilmington, NC

Press and Publications

2025 WABE City Lights Interview with Summer Evans

2017 Create! Magazine. “Curated Selection.” Create Magazine Issue 5. (2017): 146-149. curated by Dasha Matsuura

Create! Magazine. “Savonna Nicole Atkins.” Create Magazine Blog. May 24, 2017. www.createmagazine.com/blog/savonna-nicole-atkins

Bortone, Angela. “Review: MINT Achieves Synchronicity with Downtown Players Club with ‘In Touch’.” ArtsATL. May 15, 2017.

artsatl.com/review-mints-in-touch/

Friend of the Artist (FOA). “Winter 2017 Expo.” FOA Winter 2017. (2017): 18-20, 32

Authored Publications

2013 “Using Art to Decrease Passivity in Older Adults with Dementia,” honors thesis research, Annual in Therapeutic Recreation, Vol. 21.

Collections

Savannah College of Art and Design Permanent Collection, Savannah

Savannah College of Art and Design Permanent Collection, Hong Kong

Hotel Alba Tampa

Private collections: Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Massachusetts,

Texas, Arizona, Colorado, California, and South Korea.

Awards and Grants

2024 Hudgens Juror’s Award, 1st Place, The Hudgens Center for Art & Learning, Duluth, GA

2015 Honors Award Scholarship, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

2014 Student Incentive Scholarship, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

Helen Seydel Scholarship, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

Honors Award Scholarship, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

2013 Student Incentive Scholarship, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

Helen Seydel Scholarship, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

Honors Award Scholarship, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

2012 Honors Award Scholarship, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA

2011 Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Choice Award, All Student Show, Wilmington, NC

Lucile Murchison Marvin Merit Scholarship, UNCW, Wilmington, NC

2008 Lucile Murchison Marvin Merit Scholarship, UNCW, Wilmington, NC

2009 Lucile Murchison Marvin Merit Scholarship, UNCW, Wilmington, NC

2008 Lucile Murchison Marvin Merit Scholarship, UNCW, Wilmington, NC

Curatorial Projects

2017 InTouch, co-curated with Jenny Fisher, Downtown Players Club, Atlanta, GA